No Horseplay League; NHL no more octopi to be thrown on the ice.

Hockey News Photo

This one is for my buddy Redwing77, the NHL has decided after all of these years that rules, regulations and laws are more important than traditions. Wait a minute did I just say that? Well you know what I mean, they have been throwing Octopi on the ice for a very long time in Detroit and now the NHL has decided that they no longer feel that this is acceptable. Personally, it sounds like a bunch of crap to me but that's life.

DETROIT -- The NHL apparently is trying to put an end to Detroit playoff tradition that dates back to the early 1950s -- tossing an octopus onto the ice.

The Detroit Red Wings today released the following statement:

"The throwing of objects onto the ice surface is prohibited by the National Hockey League and persons caught doing so may be subject to prosecution for violating local and state laws.''


A fan reportedly was arrested and fined $500 for throwing an octopus onto the ice just before the opening faceoff in Game 1.

“I don't know anything about it,'' Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "I like calamari as much as they next guy, I don't like batter on it, but I like it spicy and cooked. It's part of the tradition here. I just hope the guys that come on to scrape it off aren't digging up the ice. I want it to be smooth.''

A couple of Phoenix players, including goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, said they're not upset when an octopus lands onto the ice in their zone after the national anthem.

NCAA Cancels Meeting With North Dakota Officials About Fighting Sioux Nickname & Logo

Fighting Sioux forever...

Looks like the NCAA doesn't like transparency; I still want the NCAA to look they Spirit Lake Tribe members that voted 67% in favor of UND keeping the Fighting Sioux nickname in the eye and then tell them that the Fighting Sioux nickname is hostile and abusive and that UND can’t keep the name.

Victor Meza, WDAZ --- The NCAA has canceled a meeting with UND and state officials regarding the Fighting Sioux Nickname and Logo.

The NCAA declined to attend because state officials wanted to host an open meeting according to Grant Shaft, a State Board of Higher Education member.

Shaft said just shortly after University of North Dakota's President Robert Kelly informed the NCAA of the changes to the meeting, the NCAA decided to decline the invitation to the April 22 meeting in Bismarck.

The silly season is in full swing. Justin Faulk leaves Duluth

"To the victor go the spoils." Justin Faulk is gone at UMD... While no one wants to see players leave early, this is the reality when you recruit blue chip players, sometimes these players develop quickly or these players are already great studs when they show up at prospective teams. I still think you have to recruit these types of players if you can get them, even if they are only going to stay 1-3 seasons. With how successful the WCHA has been this season, I think we all know that there could be a lot of early departures this season.

RALEIGH, NC – Jason Karmanos, Vice President and Assistant General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has agreed to terms with defenseman Justin Faulk on a three-year, entry-level contract. Beginning with the 2011-12 season, the contract will pay Faulk an average of $750,000 per season at the NHL level or $67,500 per season at the minor-league level. Faulk will receive a $270,000 signing bonus as a part of the contract, and will immediately join the Hurricanes’ top minor-league affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League (AHL), for the Calder Cup playoffs.

Denver Post - Goon's Moron of the year...

North Dakota's Brad Malone checks Colorado College left wing Andrew Hamburg into the boards in a game on Jan. 28. Malone was charged with boarding (The Gazette, Christian Murdock)

Wow! All I can say this that whoever wrote this from the Denver Post is my nominee for Moron of the Year. This is what I consider to be drive by gutter journalism, frankly it’s also unacceptable. That is why I like the beat writer that the Fighting Sioux have, you would never see him write a disgusting piece like this.

Seriously! The Denver Post can’t be hurting that much for readership that they needed to piss off Sioux fans and get everyone riled up among the DU and UND fans bases so they would come to the Denver Post site. The bush league aspect of this article is that the author doesn’t even include his/her name, which in my opinion is very classless... Everything written on my blog has a name to it and we take ownership for it.

My first guess was that article was written by the buffoonish Michael Chambers who is the beat writer for the DU Hockey team because its his modus operandi and it would have been my first selection when trying to put a name to this gem, however, that appears to not be the case because a readers posted on the blog that Chambers is on vacation. If it's not Chambers who is notorious for this kind of moronic journalism, then who wrote the piece of S_____? At least be man enough to stand up and put your game to it. Was it Kizla? Adrian Dater? Terry Frei?

I wonder if the Denver Post when referring to Brad Malone is going to mention that he broke Jesse Martin’s neck during a hockey play in every article that they write from here on out… If Malone makes the Avalanche are they going to write Brad Malone who broke Jesse Martin’s neck scored his first professional goal of his career for Colorado.

Avalanche signs Brad Malone, whose hit broke the neck of DU's Martin

The Avalanche on Wednesday signed an entry-level contract with college forward Brad Malone, the player whose on-ice hit broke the neck of Denver's Jesse Martin in a game last season.

Malone will report to the minor-league affiliate Lake Erie Monsters, the Avs said, for the beginning of the American Hockey League playoffs.

The 21-year-old Malone finished his senior season at North Dakota, helping them to the NCAA Frozen Four. His 40 points (16 goals and 24 assists) ranked fourth on the team. He led the Sioux with 108 penalty minutes in 43 games.

Malone was a fourth-round pick of Colorado's in the 2007 NHL draft.

"Brad just finished a strong four-year college career and we look forward to him beginning his pro career with Lake Erie," Avs general manager Greg Sherman said in a release.

In a game on Oct. 30, Martin took an open-ice check from Malone in a game at Grand Forks, N.D. The hit caused a concussion, multiple neck fractures and trauma to Martin's spinal cord.

Martin underwent major surgery and has since regained some use of his legs and arms.

Lastly, I don’t know a Sioux fan out there that isn’t pulling for Jesse Martin and cheering on his recovery, but also Sioux fans hope that Jesse is able to be able to once again play hockey for the Denver Pioneers. However, that being said the Denver Post has done nothing but try to stir up animosity between the two programs for some time now.

The Pipeline Show on the Fans at the Frozen Four...

 Guy Flaming from the Pipeline Show had this to say about the fans at last week's Frozen Four. Guy and Dean get it and they are both great hockey minds.

At the arena I saw people wearing sweaters or t-shirts or hats representing just about every NCAA team there is. All 3 games were complete sellouts with attendance surpassing the final game of the NHL regular season on Sunday (Dallas in town to play the Wild). The fans were loud, especially the North Dakota horde who dominated the stands during Thursday's semi-finals. The best way for Canadian fans to get a feel for Sioux Nation is to think of the CFL's Saskatchewan Rough Riders and the way their fans are everywhere - it's the same thing. I'm told that Denver's only guaranteed sell out of the year is when UND comes to town and it's because the rink is half full of green jerseys. Maybe it's the colour... but Saskatchewan fans are the same way.

Are the Jets coming back to Winnipeg? - Coyotes deal on last leg, True North ready

All I can say is yes please!!! I am seeing a lot of things on the internet that seem to be pointing in that direction. Also, Nick Kypreos and Doug MacLean were discussing this very subject on 590 A.M. out of Toronto on how they've heard from multiple sources that the Phoenix Coyotes will relocate to Winnipeg as soon as they're been eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs, that would be awesome true. [Click to listen] I guess I am going to have to be a Redwings fan as well.

The NHL is preparing to hold a gun to the City of Glendale’s head and is again planning to use Winnipeg as the bullet.

Reports that Matthew Hulsizer’s $170-million bid to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes is dead may be premature but it appears there is only one chapter left to be played out in this saga.

Expect the next move to be the NHL’s. It will involve positioning the city of Winnipeg against Phoenix in a manner reminiscent of last spring’s leverage play by commissioner Gary Bettman.

Sports radio talk in Toronto on Wednesday had the deal in the desert near or at the end of the line and the Free Press has a Glendale source stating Hulsizer has pulled any concessions he’s made off the table and reverted to his original agreement with the NHL and City of Glendale.

The next move will be Bettman’s and it will likely come in the next five to 10 days. He'll need Winnipeg's help again and it's quite possible that talks between the league and True North have begun anew.

The NHL has painted itself into a bit of a corner by waiting this long to resolve the sale and now runs the risk of having to announce relocation of the franchise during a playoff run. It would be bad enough to make such an announcement in the first round but even worse to make it in the Stanley Cup final.

It’s unlikely Bettman will wait that long to pull the trigger. Expect the commissioner to get in front of this one in the latter stages of the opening round. Bettman will give Hulsizer and the City of Glendale one final crack at closing a deal.

Mark Chipman and his partner David Thomson are still interested in an NHL franchise they would bring to Winnipeg and operate out of the MTS Centre.

Playing stalking horse for the NHL a second time will, however, come with some strings says a U.S.-based attorney with experience in sports franchise transfer-of-ownership deals.

The lawyer, who has been involved in NBA and NHL relocations deals, demanded anonymity but said the next few steps will be common practice in terms of the league’s arrangement with True North.

The healing begins; Goon's in studio on 1310 KNOX - Thursday from 4:30 – 5:00 PM

Listen to the Goon live at 4:30 pm – 5:00 pm on 1310 AM KNOX on Thursday April 14th, 2011. R.J. Richards and the Goon will be talking about the Frozen Four that took place last weekend. We will probably break down the debacle that was the Fighting Sioux versus Michigan... If you live out of town you can listen live by clicking on this web link... [Click to Listen]

Call in 701-775-5559, 1-866-KNOX-1310, email: Live@KNOXRADIO.com

TSN's McKenzie: We should get answers to our Coyotes question soon.

Yes Please...

Bob McKenzie, TSN --- Where will the Phoenix Coyotes be playing next season?

Well, since you asked, I will say it's more likely to be Winnipeg than Phoenix. That's my opinion.

I say probably, and qualify it as my "opinion," because all the factual information I can find says to me very clearly that no final or irrevocable decision on the future home of the Coyotes has yet been made by any of the three vested parties - the NHL, the City of Glendale and would-be (under the right circumstances) owner Matthew Hulsizer.

And if we have learned anything in this long and winding Coyotes' saga in Phoenix it is that it ain't over until one of three parties pulls out and says it's dead.

Could that happen? Sure, it could.

When might it happen? I don't know, it could be days or maybe a week or two or three. Months is certainly not a viable answer because if the Coyotes are going to relocate to Winnipeg or anywhere else, there is much that needs to be done to facilitate it both within the league and the new market as well.

A couple of things on hump day...

If you haven't heard it, I suggest you listen to the call of UMD's game winning goal by Bulldogs forward Kyle Schmidt. Click on the link provided, the game winning goal is at the 20:19 mark. If not listen to this week in hockey podcast. The voice of the UMD Bulldogs, Bruce Ciskie with the call of the game winning goal!!! [Click to listen]

Down goes Brown has his preview for the Bruins and Habs, this is good stuff.

#6 Canadiens vs. #3 Bruins

The matchup: Montreal coach Jacques Martin might have trouble with the Bruins, since he historically struggles in the playoffs when faced with good teams built by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The view from Montreal: The Canadiens would love to get some payback against Zdeno Chara if they weren't being held back by arbitrary rules, like the instigator penalty and also the basic laws of physics.

The view from Boston: Tim Thomas set a league record for save percentage this season, although that number drops significantly if you factor in the ability to save his own dignity in fights against Carey Price.

Player to watch: Dr. Mark Recchi, who has kindly agreed to signal from the bench to let us know whether players being scraped off the ice onto a stretcher are actually injured or not.

Prediction: The Canadiens lose the series, but finally get their revenge on Chara at the end of game four when they all squeeze his hand really hard during the post-game handshakes.

Looks like former UND Fighting Sioux forward Chris Porter has played himself into a job in St. Louis...

Q: There’s a lot of talk about top-six forwards, defensemen and goaltending. But what about the third- and fourth-line forwards? How can you build them up and make the team better?

A: "That gets into the depth of your team, that NHL depth. I’d like to publicly say it, the person who took the greatest advantage of his opportunity was (Chris) Porter. He came in and he really stepped up. In his role, he was the most effective of the call-up players in my opinion. He was the one guy that came in and really said that he wants to position himself to be on the cups of being an everyday NHL player.

"(Ryan) Reaves came up and played well, too, but no one was more consistent at that than Porter. So I want to give that accolade to him. A lot of players are going to have to fight and earn that spot. If we have the depth and these players don’t earn that right, then they have to start in Peoria. I’m excited about what Porter did, I’m excited about what Reaves did, I’m excited (Vladimir) Sobotka back again, (B.J.) Crombeen … I think there’s good depth there."

Apparently the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines, Red Berenson, wasn't happy with the officiating after the final game of the Frozen Four. Yeah, ok! To some this might sound like sour grapes, but to others he has a point.

“You can’t kill nine penalties,” said Michigan coach Red Berenson. “Like we said before the game, if they get three, if we can kill three penalties, that should be it. We’re not out there to take penalties.”

But that wasn’t all Berenson had to say.

“Every time a player falls down, it shouldn’t be a penalty, not in NCAA championship game hockey.”

This is where I would like to see a national standard in college hockey as far as how the game is called; the games were/are called differently from league to league. As most of us know; the WCHA is more lenient and lets more of the obstruction go than other leauges like Hockey East and CCHA officials call the most. In my opinion, there needs to be a happy medium but also there needs to be a set standard. In watching the NCAA hockey this spring I saw a lot of inconsistencies on how the game was called by the on ice officials, even during the Frozen Four. You never knew what was going to be called from game to game. What was a penalty in the first semi final game of the Frozen Four wasn’t a penalty during the second semi final game.

Odds to win the 2011 Stanley Cup

Odds to win the 2011 Stanley Cup - [Link]
Vancouver Canucks - 3/1
Washington Capitals - 11/2
San Jose Sharks - 7/1
Philadelphia Flyers - 8/1
Boston Bruins - 17/2
Detroit Red Wings - 9/1
Pittsburgh Penguins - 11/1
Anaheim Ducks - 20/1
Tampa Bay Lightning - 20/1
Chicago Blackhawks - 22/1
Buffalo Sabres - 25/1
Los Angeles Kings - 30/1
Montreal Canadiens - 30/1
Nashville Predators - 30/1
Phoenix Coyotes - 30/1
New York Rangers - 35/1

So is Brett Hextall the next one to sign?

Brad Schlossman tweeted this last night on Twitter...

Re: Hextall rumors. Been working for two days to get something confirmed, but haven't gotten anything. I know PHX is after him.

Here is a postcast and at the 12:00 minute mark of the interview with Brad Treliving,
Vice President of Hockey Operations and Assistant General Manager for the Phoenix Coyotes said that they are trying to get a deal done with Brett Hextall. [click to listen]

Redwing77's NHL Playoff Preview and First Round Predictions

Ok, here's where I run down my first round predictions and what I think of every NHL Playoff team.

First off, congrats to all of the teams who made it to the second season. So sorry, Dallas, thanks for playing. Perhaps Dave Tippett wasn't in fact the right answer...right? Hello? Uh... my bad.

Secondly, so sorry for the fans of the Minnesota Wild. For a while there you thought you had a chance at the postseason. Kindof like how the Timberwolves feel every opening day in the NBA. However, shortly thereafter, that feeling goes away.

Anyways, the teams and the matchups:

First, Tampa Bay vs. Pittsburgh:

Predictable I'm sure but... I don't want Pittsburgh to win. They are the media darling and everyone loves them, I guess. With Crosby out, the media, to their credit, has found that the Penguins do in fact have more than just Crosby and Malkin. They've now heaped massive amounts of praise on Marc-Andre Fleury. True to their claims, he has been rather good this year. And that's saying something considering I hold Fleury in only slightly better regard than Carey Price.

I'm going to go with my heart here and say that Tampa Bay takes it in 7. I know the media expects the Pens to win it, but... I like Tampa because they deserve it and it would be hilarious to see ESPN and NHL Network turn into apologists for Gary Bettman's team. Also, just for the record, I'd like Tampa to take the series WITH Crosby on the ice. I'd also love it if Malkin were playing too, but he's out for the season. This would eliminate the apologist claims that Crosby's absence was the key to the Lightning's success. As per form, the media is all over the Penguins' losses as due to injury to Crosby. There has never been a better team than Pittsburgh since Crosby was drafted and it is only to circumstance and injury trouble that the Penguins haven't gone undefeated in the years since Crosby came to Pittsburgh.

Next: Vancouver vs. Chicago

I want Chicago. I know Chicago is a rival of my Wings but I love the way they play and the way their team is set up. They're almost like the Anti-Red Wings in the fact that the Red Wings go for veterans and the Hawks go to youth. Toews is a monster and Kane's not bad either.

However, if it comes down to goaltending, I think Luongo (despite the choke jobs he's done in the past) will come away with the victory. Crawford has been great at times but consistency is an issue.

I predict: Chicago in 7

Rangers vs. Caps:

Ok, this is probably THE most likely upset of the first round. The Rangers are playing well and have a great goaltender. The Caps have Ovechkin and they have... did I mention Ovechkin? Their goaltending has to be the youngest trio in the playoffs... perhaps in the NHL? And inconsistency has been a real pain. If the Rangers were smart, they'd try to bog down the Caps offense and turn it into a defensive contest. If that happens, Rangers win.

Rangers in 6.

Nashville vs. Anaheim:

This is, in my opinion, the best first round matchup to be played "in the dark." Meaning, no TV coverage. Nashville is a nice story and Anaheim is boring. Yeah, they got Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, and Bobby Ryan, but they are a one line wonder. Nashville has a goaltender. A darn good one. But that's it. I'm not sure anyone can name their first line.

Meh. I'm going to go with Keith Jones of the NHL Network and say that the Predators win their first playoff series just for kicks. They'll do it in 5.

Montreal vs. Boston

Montreal is Carey Price. Beat Price, and Les Habitants go away. Hey Bruins: Beat Price. Beat him like a rented mule. Make him throw hissy fits again. Make him shoot pucks at the opposing players during their goal celebratory hugs. And, while you're at it, do it while making Price look good enough that the Canadiens blow a ton of cash on an extension so that Price can return to the 3.00+ GAA and the .895 Save% for the remainder of his contract.

Boston in 6.

LA vs. San Jose:

Blah. I guess LA is banged up. I hear that San Jose doesn't have that great of goaltending. Niemi shines and SJ advances. I don't see them winning more than 3 games... because if they did, they'd advance.

I'm going to say Greene pulls it out in the end. LA in 7.

Buffalo vs. Philly:

Philly has goaltending issues. Buffalo has goal scoring issues. This series could be very interesting or a complete snoozefest. Philly enters with the goaltender most likely to be pulled in Game 1 for a backup in Bobobsky (I know I'm misspelling his last name). Miller might not be 100% but I'll take him in a second over any of Philly's goaltenders. Vanek needs to be hot and Stafford needs to be timely if Buffalo has a chance.

That being said, if Pronger returns, a Sabre will get injured and the Flyers will advance.

Philly in 6.

Phoenix vs. DA WINGS!!!!

The Wings are banged up. Datsyuk is back, thank god, but Zetterberg is out at least Game 1 and Franzen is colder than the arctic circle. Injury issues can be the death of the Wings because I don't trust the depth. Our depth is either too role player heavy or too old. Modano is what... 65? Howard is nice and all but he can let some doozies past him. At least he's not Wasgood (Osgood for you who don't know).

Bryzgalov is the better goaltender and I still think my wings are the better offensive talent.

I don't think the Wings will win it all this year. They're not 100% when they needed it the most. And they're not clicking as well either. I say they squeak past Phoenix and bow out again in the second round.

Detroit in 7.

It's on... Stanley Cup playoffs start tomorrow...

Who is going to win? Who is the favorite to win the cup? Will one of the Bruins shut P.K. Subban's big mouth. Will the Sidney Crosby return for the Stanley Cup playoffs?

Brad Malone signs with the Av's...

Another player from UND's senior class has signed a professional contract. Former Fighting Sioux forward Brad Malone signed a two way deal and will report to Lake Erie Monsters and try and help them win a AHL Championship.

GRAND FORKS – Brad Malone started his college career with a three-point freshman season.

By the time he was done at UND the power forward from Miramichi, N.B. centered one of the top lines in the country, tallied 40 points in a season and found an NHL contract waiting for him to sign.

Malone inked that contract on Monday morning – a two-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche that will kick in starting in the fall. Malone will report immediately to Colorado’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters, and he will play in the AHL playoffs on a tryout contract.

Lake Erie, located in Cleveland, takes on the Manitoba Moose in the first round, so Malone will be playing in Winnipeg next Tuesday and Thursday.

Malone’s contract calls for him to make $600,000 next season and $775,000 in 2012-13 if he plays in the NHL, according to capgeek.com He will make $65,000 if he plays in the AHL and will earn signing bonuses of $75,000 each season.

“I think Brad made such good steady progress here,” UND coach Dave Hakstol said. “Any challenges along the way, he handled really well. He used them to improve himself and to use them as a springboard to the next step developmentally.

“He really developed himself into a powerful two-way centerman. He put himself in a real great position going into the Colorado Avalanche organization. I think he has shown physically and mentally, he’s ready to challenge to play in the NHL immediately next year.”

Chay Genoway to the State of Hockey

India Times

I would like to congratulate former Sioux defenseman Chay Genoway on his signing a one year deal with the Minnesota Wild. Genoway according to multiple tweets on twitter this morning Genoway will not joining the Houston Areos this spring for the AHL playoffs.

StarTribune ---- It's official: The Wild signed Fightning Sioux defenseman Chay Genoway to a one-year deal this morning.

Because Genoway is 24, that's the max term the Wild could sign him to right now. So it's like Nate Prosser. He had to sign a one-year deal last year, but since his contract actually began last year, he became a restricted free agent last summer. Genoway would become one next summer.

Casey Wellman was able to sign a two-year deal, so he burned his first year by playing last year, meaning he's a restricted free agent this summer. Just a little college UFA tutorial.

The Wild, which is continually looking to upgrade its prospect pool, hopes to sign a handful of college and European free agents in the coming days.

Genoway is 5-foot-9, 177 pounds and helped lead UND to the Frozen Four this past season. He's scored 127 points in his career, which is fourth among defensemen all-time at UND. I've got a team of researchers looking up where Brad Bombardir ranks.

Chenoway was named to the All-WCHA First Team this year. He's the first player ever to be named a four-time All-WCHA selection. Genoway was the UND captain the past two seasons, and was named to the All-College Hockey News Second Team in 2010-11. Genoway received a medical redshirt in the 2009-10 season due to a concussion. Genoway, a +48 player in his college career, is the second player in WCHA history to be named a WCHA Scholar-Athlete four times. Genoway hails from Morden, Manitoba and is a 2005 graduate of Shattuck-St. Mary’s in Faribault, Minn.

Hey Richards! Guess what! You're Fired! (REDWING77)

For being unable to produce something from Mikko Koivu, a second hand man, a perimeter Johnny Come Around Whenever, a few gritty forwards, and a bunch of AHLers.

Why is Richards being fired when the problem the Wild has is that they have no ability to draft offensive players, they have no one in their farm system who can score, and they refuse to spend the big money on players who can change this dynamic? To me, this is a problem that starts with the ownership and stops in the front office. On ESPN.com’s comment section on the article which states of Todd Richards’ dismissal, a random poster who goes by “tyjohn47” posted the following comment:

It's only the first step. Word around the Wild campfire is that the only person in the organization that is safe is Mikko Koivu. Havlat will most likely be dealt. He can do well as a secondary option but it is clear he is not and should not be a teams primary scoring option.

If the Wild can unload the final year of Backstrom's contract on a team...perhaps the Caps if/when the Caps stumble in the playoffs again this season due to their ####-poor goaltending situation?? Brent Burns is heading into the final year of his contract and he may well command a contract with $ similar to Seabrook...so they'll have to make a decision on him too. Zidlicky...gone....he costs way too much for as often as he is hurt.

The Wild need to get younger, faster, tougher and a lot more athletic, quite frankly. Richards did the best he possibly could have with what he had. No stain on him, here. For those blaming Fletcher, fair enough but also understand this much before you throw him under the bus; owner Craig Leipold more or less ordered him to try and make the playoffs and Fletcher did as he was told.

Fletcher thus far is 0 for 3 in making player for player trades bringing in Latendresse who had a very good season in 09-10 but played all of 11 games this season, Chuck Kobasew who couldn't score in a whorehouse and Cam Barker who the Blackhawks were more than happy to unload on to the Wild late last season.

The time has come to clean house and start over in St. Paul.

I’m having a hard time disagreeing with him. The Wild are a disappointment from top to bottom. They spend money on players who don’t command such a high price (regardless of what the market or their agents suggest). They pass on players who are high priced for the right reasons. They subscribe to a system that either worked in the 1970s or are doomed to fail from the get go with the player personnel they have. To make matters worse, you can have a great system but it can take so long to get out from underneath the weighted rock of the financials and player personnel that it can ruin whatever chances a coach has of being successful.

I know the high stakes free agency market can be hard to afford if not downright ridiculous (Kovalchuk anyone?) but… Kovalchuk started out sucking… and ended the year with 31 goals. Havlat finished the year leading the team with 22 goals… the next best was that torrid goal scorer… Cal Clutterbuck with 19! Yeah… if those two were my leading goal scorers, I’d pretty much mail it in too.

This Wild team has been built to win the 1-0, 2-1 snoozefests. I guess I was spoiled watching a team like the Red Wings who, over the past 10 years or so or maybe even more, do such wonderful things as scoring an average of more than 3 goals per game. The last Minnesota team that scored goals decided to move to Dallas.

Fletcher is getting the wrong idea. He thinks that by changing the coach, you’ll get better results out of the players. I still don't see how you are going to get the players to play better than their God-given talent allows. I mean, it's one thing to teach a pig to sit down and roll over upon command. It's completely another issue to try to teach a pig to sing Wagner's Ride of the Valkyrie.

Congrats to Fletcher for firing the coach 2 years into a 5-6 year rebuilding process. Well, back to the 5-6 year rebuilding process.

Matt Frattin on NHL.COM

I have enjoyed watching Matt Frattin play at UND for four season and his presence on the ice will be missed, he is a person that leads by example on the ice. There will also be a few lessons we can all learn from, none of us are perfect but there is nothing wrong with working hard and getting a second chance.

USCHO Final Poll... UMD the champs...

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
[April 11, 2011]
1. Minnesota-Duluth (48) 26-10-6 996 11
2. North Dakota ( 2) 32- 9-3 927 1
3. Michigan 29-11-4 926 6
4. Notre Dame 25-14-5 827 9
5. Boston College 30- 8-1 742 2
6. Yale 28- 7-1 725 3
7. Denver 25-12-5 679 5
8. Miami 23-10-6 647 4
9. New Hampshire 22-11-6 571 12
10. Merrimack 25-10-4 544 7
11. Colorado College 23-19-3 512 13
12. Union 26-10-4 505 8
13. Western Michigan 19-13-10 435 10
14. Nebraska-Omaha 21-16-2 373 14
15. Dartmouth 19-12-3 231 15
16. Rensselaer 20-13-5 223 16
17. Boston University 19-12-8 183 17
18. Air Force 20-12-6 154 20
19. Maine 17-12-7 135 18
20. Cornell 16-15-3 51 19
Others Receiving Votes: Wisconsin 44, Minnesota 29, Alaska-Anchorage 12, Bemidji State 7, Rochester Institute of Technology 7, Northeastern 4, Princeton 4, St. Cloud State 4, Ferris State 3
-------------------------------
USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll
1. Minnesota Duluth (34) 26-10-6 510 3
2. Michigan 29-11-4 459 2
3. North Dakota 32-9-3 449 1
4. Notre Dame 25-14-5 395 4
5. Boston College 30-8-1 363 5
6. Yale 28-7-1 314 6
7. Denver 25-12-5 306 7
8. Miami 23-10-6 238 8
9. New Hampshire 22-11-6 246 9
10. Merrimack 25-10-4 204 10
11. Colorado College 23-19-13 182 11
12. Union 26-10-4 146 12
13. Western Michigan 19-13-10 122 13
14. Nebraska Omaha 21-16-2 82 14
15. Rensselaer 20-13-5 16 15
Others Receiving Votes: Dartmouth 10, Boston University 4, RIT 2, Air Force 2

I don't see the logical reason for having one last meaningless poll, in my opinion the tourney is over and the UMD Bulldogs are the NCAA Champions, congrats to them for their great season. I also think that the NCAA tourney should be the final poll... Also, after being spanked by the C.C. Tigers 8-4, the 2010 NCAA champions, the B.C. Eagles still ended up being ranked above the Tigers; so still no love for C.C Tigers in the final poll.

What is it with the voters that voted for teams that didn't even make the NCAA tourney, but also ranking said teams over teams that did... Anyone ready for next season already.

Bruins vs Les Habitants

The Boston Bruins released their schedule for the first round of the NHL Playoff series with the Les Habitants De Montreal.

Game 1: Thursday, April 14, 2011 7 p.m. Montreal at Boston RDS, VERSUS, CBC(HD)
Game 2: Saturday, April 16, 2011 7 p.m. Montreal at Boston RDS, VERSUS, CBC(HD)
Game 3: Monday, April 18, 2011 7:30 p.m. Boston at Montreal RDS, CBC(HD)
Game 4: Thursday, April 21, 2011 7 p.m. Boston at Montreal RDS, VERSUS, CBC(HD)
Game 5: Saturday, April 23, 2011 7 p.m. Montreal at Boston* RDS, VERSUS, CBC(HD)
Game 6: Tuesday, April 26, 2011 TBD Boston at Montreal* RDS, CBC(HD)
Game 7: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 TBD Montreal at Boston* RDS, CBC(HD)

*If Necessary

Strike while the Iron is hot, Wild Fire Todd Richards

While it was obvious that the Wild weren’t going anywhere this season, even though they were in the race for a while, the Wild are still reeling from the Doug Risebrough days where he basically ran the Wild hockey team into the ground with his poor player personnel moves. Going forward, I don’t think even a high profile hall of fame type coach could have taken this thin in talent Wild team to the NHL playoffs.

Minnesota Wild ---- The second head coaching tenure in Minnesota Wild history has come to an end. Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher has announced that Head Coach Todd Richards has been relieved of his duties effective immediately.

The decision was made known Monday morning, the day after the Wild concluded Richards' second season as bench boss. The 44-year-old coach posted a record of 77-71-16 after taking over for Jacques Lemaire, the only other coach in franchise history. In both seasons, the Wild was in playoff contention through the winter, but both seasons also ended without playoff appearances.

“I would like to thank Todd for the hard work he provided to the Minnesota Wild organization the last two seasons and wish him the best in the future,” said Fletcher.

Further quotes from Fletcher regarding the decision will be posted shortly.

While I really never was on the Richards bandwagon nor was I on the campaign to run Richards out of town on a rail this team wasn't going anywhere and I could have told you that after watching them play in December. The Wild are up against the salary cap the cupboard is very bare when it comes to scoring talent for the Minnesota Wild, there is no one to score goals, the defensive unit is pretty good but the fact remains that Minnesota Wild needs to get a couple of high profile scorers they can do this if they do not resign some dead weight and get some talent in their place.

Justin Abdelkader blatant elbow on Brent Seabrook

This should have been a penalty probably a 5, 10 and a game misconduct, this is the kind of hits that that NHL is trying to get rid of. I have seen Redwings fans defending it, but it's a blatant chicken wing elbow, it was it to the head and this needs to be reviewed by the NHL. In my opinion it's worthy of a game or two.

Hey! It's just a game. Moron of the week...

Star Tribune

First off the fan/buffoon that did this regardless of what fan base they were from needs to realized that they just committed a crime, it’s called damage to private property and they should have been carted out of the Xcel Energy Center in hand cuffs and stuck in the back of a police car. The newspaper writer that recorded this event should have called the usher and or Xcel Energy Security Staff and had this person confronted and removed from the arena. That’s unacceptable behavior and it’s also socially unacceptable, what kind of animal does that? The Fan that punched a hole in the Xcel Energy Center ceiling is my candidate for "moron of the week."

Star Tribune --- We have not, however, ever punched a hole in the wall of a public sporting arena (or anywhere else, for that matter). This UND fan cannot say the same. After Michigan scored an empty-netter in the final minute to essentially seal the game, he stood up and pounded the wall high above him. Then he did it again, producing that hole you see in the picture. And then they left.

As fans we also need to remember that when we are wearing our team’s uniforms/colors whether at home or on the road we are representatives of the school and our behavior whether good or bad also reflects on our school and us as people as well. There is also some question if the guy wearing the green shirt flipping off the Michigan player is actually a Sioux fan or not…

I was sitting near this clown... for what it's worth, he was decked out in head-to-toe UMD Bulldog gear for the championship game last night... including an authentic Bulldog sweater. As was his sig other. Tough to tell what or who he was a fan of... maybe just disliked Michigan, which many can understand. Ranger

Teemu Selanne gets into 2nd fight of his NHL career...

Check out this fight between Kyle Clifford vs Sheldon Brookbank, but also the Teemu Selanne and Brad Richardson bout, that was only the second fight of Selanne's NHL career. Again, you don't want your star players fighting because they could get hurt but there is a time and a place where a player has to stand up for himself and take matters into his own hands if the refs don't protect the players. s/t Puck Daddy

The Ducks Blog --- “You don’t see that very often,” Selanne said, smiling. “When you feel that somebody tried to hurt you, you have to do some action out there. I had to do what I had to do.

“I can look after myself. Usually you don’t want to hurt your hand and stuff, but I was pretty mad. I know when somebody’s trying to hurt me. That shouldn’t be the case in this league.”

Selanne’s last fight was so long ago that there’s confusion about who his opponent was. The Web site hockeyfights.com lists Chicago’s Chris Chelios as the player Selanne scrapped with, noting the date of the bout as Jan. 19, 1993.

"'to the victor belong the spoils"

With Success come worries about players leaving early. There are going to be some teams looking at J.T. Brown, maybe not this season but they will next season if he keeps playing like this.

Heck of an exciting win by the Bulldogs. I was here but not working, so I got to watch the UMD postgame press conference without any time restrictions. After all, I wasn't on deadline. What a pleasure to watch, especially well-spoken Kyle Schmidt, who scored the winner. He was hilarious in the postgame, and there were several funny, touching moments.

Justin Fontaine is a free agent, and the Wild may have interest. He attended last year's development camp and the Wild likes him. He didn't do much last night, but JT Brown did. I'd assume he returns to school, but in a year, he may be as hotly contested as Casey Wellman and Stephane Da Costa.

Who coaches Tech?

There is a vacancy at Michigan Tech University for a head hockey coach; you would think that Michigan Tech will probably want to fill that coaching vacancy before too long, because the offseason isn’t that short and there are many coaching duties that need to be carried out during the offseason, recruitment, player evaluation, preparations for next season, etc... You would have to wonder who would want to coach the Michigan Tech hockey team a perennial doormat team. Matt Wellens threw a couple of names out there back in March after the Huskies head coach resigned.

Minning Journal --- Let the debate begin. Who can take over the historic Michigan Tech University hockey program and bring it out of the basement?

Longtime University of Michigan and Red Berenson assistant coach Mel Pearson sounds great, especially since he is an MTU alum.

North Dakota assistant Cary Eades would be considered a steal for any WCHA team hoping to compete with the Fighting Sioux.

Nebraska-Omaha and former Minnesota assistant Mike Guentzel, former Miami and current Denver assistant Steve Miller and another Tech alum, Ron Rolston at the U.S. National Team Development Program, are all great head college coaching candidates as well.

But if Michigan Tech hires any one of them, the Husky hockey program will continue to be the punching bag of college hockey's elite.

It's time for Michigan Tech to be more like Northern Michigan University, as painful as that may sound to MTU alumni.

TJ Oshie Praying for a Goal

I taught him that.

Nathan Gerbe's propels Sabres into the playoffs with this awesome goal...

Check out this goal by former B.C. Eagle Nathan Gerbe, unbelievable goal by the little guy. The goal by Gerbe tied the game for the Sabres who then won the game in overtime with a goal from former Golden Gopher Thomas Vanek which was also a thing of beauty as well.

ND Governor Jack Dalrymple; Time for the NCAA to Explain Themselves to the People of North Dakota

I couldn't agree more. listen to the audio right here

FARGO, ND – An April 22nd gathering of NCAA executives, North Dakota state representatives and the University of North Dakota’s Board of Higher Education should be open to the public as an opportunity for the NCAA to “explain to the people of North Dakota” their position regarding the Fighting Sioux Indianhead logo, North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple says.

Appearing on the Scott Hennen Show yesterday, Dalrymple advocated an open-door meeting with the involved parties so that statements made by the NCAA could be subject to a public reception…not confined to a legal document.

“I think it’s time for the NCAA to explain to the people of North Dakota why they are doing what they are saying they’re going to do. I think the time is come for them to articulate that, and not in a legal document.” Dalrymple said.

It took 81 games to figure this out?

ESPN Photo

In the past, I have not been on the fire Todd Richards movement but after reading this, I have ask; why wasn't this line combination tried untill last night? Also, it appears that Todd Richards might be on the verg of coaching his last game this weekend. In my opinion, Wild Forward softie Antti Miettinen would be lucky to be a third line player on a lot of teams in the NHL and shouldn’t be a first line player on the Minnesota Wild.

Good chemistry The Wild might have unearthed a bona fide right winger to play with Mikko Koivu next season: Bouchard (Pierre-Marc Bouchard).

For the first time in a full 60 minutes this season, Richards tried to kickstart the offense by replacing Antti Miettinen with the playmaking Bouchard.

The result was instant chemistry, with Bouchard and Koivu each recording three assists.

Asked if Koivu and Bouchard could be a possible tandem next season, Richards said, "It could be. It's something to look at."

On the Sioux; They’re one of those teams who don’t recruit, they reload

Check out what Chris Petters from United States of Hockey had to say about the Fighting Sioux after they lost in Thursday's semi final.

Eulogizing the Fallen

North Dakota

North Dakota played a great game. They just didn’t score. Can’t win if you don’t score goals. (How do you like that analysis?) To be honest, it felt like, for much of the third period, there was literally nothing the Sioux could do that would have helped them win. Hunwick was just too good. It just looked like fate was not on North Dakota’s side.

The Sioux had a very good team this year and it’s a shame for their senior class, that stayed together through thick and thin, won’t have a shot at the title. They were sure they’d win and it didn’t work out. That’s a tough pill to swallow.

Bright side for Sioux Fans: North Dakota has one of the top recruiting classes in the country for 2011-12. The Sioux have two really exciting players to watch in Rocco Grimaldi and J.T. Miller coming to Grand Forks. They’re one of those teams who don’t recruit, they reload.

Let's grab some reality...

Press Enterprise

In case you have seen it, check out this post on Sioux Sports.

You must also be a Minnesota Twins fan. Consistently able to get to the playoffs, but just as consistent losing when they get there.

Another thing people should look at is Hakstol has made all these Frozen Fours, but he has only made the title game once. That shows a consistent pattern of (cough cough) not being able to win the big one.

Hakstol = Doug Woog with hair

Here is my response to a poster over on Sioux Sports, I refer to these people as the Debbie Downers or Negative Nellie’s of the World...I have no idea who this person is or do I have any thing against said person. Could be my next door neighbor for all that I know.

So you would rather have Scott Sandelin coach the Sioux than Dave Hakstol? First off Sandy isn’t ever coming back, the word on the street is that his wife hated it here in Grand Forks, ND, I have heard this numerous times so I tend to believe this.

We could start comparing numbers of the two coaches and if Sandy's team doesn't win the NCAA championship I would say that Coach Hakstol is still quite a bit better coach than Scott Sandelin, one could probably still make the argument even if his team wins it all tonight. Let’s not forget that disgruntled UMD fans were calling for this same coach’s head on a silver platter just a short time ago. There were people that wanted to run him out of town on a rail

It amazes me that the Dave Hakstol haters come on here and the minute his team loses a big game and demand that coach Hakstol fired...What is the University go to fire him for? The Fighting Sioux almost won the Triple Crown of College Hockey; they basically were on game short. There is no just cause to fire Coach Hakstol what-so-ever. The haters got all of the answers. Ok hey Hakstol haters, I have a suggestion for you; if you want Hakstol to be fired, I suggest you step up to the plate and open your wallet and buy out Hakstol’s contract, do you have 500,000.00 to a couple of million sitting around in your check book to buy him out? Unless the Fighting Sioux have a string of losing seasons and or a major ethical or criminal scandal with the program the head coach isn’t going anywhere unless; the professional ranks come calling, which is possible.

My next question is; who the hell do you want to coach this team? I would be willing to wager that no matter who was coaching this team Thursday night would have had the same result in the end. Do you think that Blais would have an answer for the way the Wolverines played? Coaches don’t put on skates and score goals and or make body checks. The Wolverines are coached by a 71 year old future college hockey hall of fame coach and his team beat the Sioux at their own game. We really need to give credit where credit is due; that was a hell of a good job exploiting all of the Fighting Sioux tendencies. If any thing we might need to applaud Red who has been coaching probably longer than many in the business have been alive.

Hey let the debate begin...

DU's Joe Colborne and UND's Matt Frattin to make Leaf debuts

If you live in Grand Forks, ND or have Midco Net in this area you can watch Matt Frattin play on channel 16 CBC tonight, so Fighting Sioux fans if you don't want to watch/stomach the Frozen Four check out Fratts as he makes is professional debut versus the Montreal Canadiens or "Les Habitants". According to Pension Plan Puppets Matt Frattin, will play on a line with Tyler Bozak and Nazem Kadr. We might get a look into the Maple Leaf's future tonight's line up additions.

The Star ---- Joe Colborne — the 21-year-old prospect the Leafs got from Boston in the Tomas Kaberle trade — will make his NHL debut on Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens.

So will Matt Frattin, the 23-year-old NCAA forward who signed a two-year entry level contract Friday night. Frattin, a finalist for U.S.

college player of the year — losing to Miami (Ohio) forward Andy Miele, despite leading NCAA scorers with 36 goals — was picked 99th overall by the Leafs in 2007.